MotoGP

[ad_1] Valentino Rossi admitted his Yamaha team was left worried by a muted showing on the final day of MotoGP’s first 2018 pre-season test at Sepang. Rossi was second – 0.035s behind pace-setting team-mate Maverick Vinales – on Monday and declared it better than any test day in 2017, but could not match that pace

[ad_1] Ducati MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo ended the three-day pre-season test in Malaysia quickest, setting a new unofficial lap record in the process. Lorenzo surpassed the previous best MotoGP lap of the Sepang circuit, set by Honda’s Marc Marquez during winter testing in 2015, by 0.037 seconds on the final day. Maverick Vinales’ laptime that

[ad_1] Alex Rins says Suzuki has managed to vastly improve the GSX-RR’s engine, one of its main weaknesses in the 2017 MotoGP season, over the winter. After its successful 2016 campaign, during which it won its first race in almost a decade courtesy of Maverick Vinales, Suzuki entered last year without its rules concessions. This

[ad_1] Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says he is not yet able to keep consistent pace with the new winged fairing introduced by Honda in Sepang testing. Alongside his factory team-mate Dani Pedrosa and test rider Cal Crutchlow, Marquez trialled the new fairing on the second day of pre-season MotoGP running on Monday. The riders

[ad_1] Upgrade for free today You have 10 articles remaining to view this month. Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales beat team-mate Valentino Rossi to lead the second day of 2018 pre-season testing at Sepang. Vinales, who had finished only 13th on the first day as he focused on race runs, logged a 1m59.355s in the

[ad_1] The opening day of MotoGP testing at Sepang has been more positive for Yahama than the whole of last year’s pre-season running, according to Valentino Rossi. Rossi was the only rider to set a time below 2m01s for an hour of the session before being joined by team-mate Maverick Vinales, although the factory Yamaha

[ad_1] Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa set the pace on the opening day of official 2018 pre-season testing at Sepang. Pedrosa upped his pace drastically late on, blitzing the field with a 1m59.427s effort that left him three-and-a-half tenths clear of his nearest rival, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. The test kicked off with the track soaked

[ad_1] Two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner says it “makes no sense” for the series to have pre-season testing at Sepang. Ducati’s Stoner was one of several test riders that took part in the three-day private test that precedes the start of official pre-season running on Sunday. Sharing duties with fellow Ducati tester Michele Pirro, the

[ad_1] The Suzuki MotoGP factory team has officially unveiled the 2018 version of its GSX-RR grand prix racing motorcycle. Its new bike, sporting a largely unchanged light blue livery, was presented to the public on Saturday at the Sepang International Circuit, the day before the first collective pre-season test of 2018 kicks off at the

[ad_1] Maverick Vinales says he hopes Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Valentino Rossi decides to stick with the team beyond the end of the 2018 season. Rossi’s current contract expires at the end of the upcoming campaign, and the Italian has said he is in “no rush” to finalise a deal to stay on at Yamaha. Vinales

[ad_1] Yonny Hernandez is on Tech3 Yamaha’s shortlist to replace Jonas Folger for the upcoming MotoGP season and will test for the team in Malaysia. Folger finished 10th in his rookie MotoGP campaign last year and had been re-signed by Tech 3 for 2018 alongside Johann Zarco. He missed several races to illness and will

[ad_1] Valentino Rossi will wait before committing to a new Yamaha MotoGP contract so he can see if he is motivated or would “prefer to stay at home on the sofa”. The Italian’s current contract expires at the end of the 2018 season, as is the case for the majority of the MotoGP field –

[ad_1] Moto2 rider Dominique Aegerter has launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover “additional expenses” for his Kiefer Racing seat. Aegerter’s place on the grid was only confirmed earlier this month after the future of the Kiefer team was plunged into doubt when an investor pulled out. The German squad, which lost co-founder Stefan Kiefer during

[ad_1] Yamaha has presented its YZR-M1 bike for the upcoming 2018 MotoGP season with riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales. The bike, sporting a familiar blue paint scheme with prominent branding – now white as opposed to green – from title sponsor Movistar, was unveiled in the Matadero Madrid modern art centre. Rossi will be

[ad_1] MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales will remain with Yamaha until at least 2020, having agreed a new two-year deal with the manufacturer. The 2013 Moto3 champion joined Yamaha ahead of the 2017 MotoGP season after spending two seasons in the premier class with Suzuki. Vinales’ original two-year deal was due to expire at the end

[ad_1] Pramac MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci says the 2018 season will be his last with the satellite Ducati team. The 27-year-old agreed a one-year extension to his contract last year despite being courted by Aprilia as it sought a replacement for Sam Lowes. It emerged earlier this month that Pramac is in advanced negotiations with

[ad_1] In our first ever MotoGP Mailbag, series correspondent ORIOL PUIGDEMONT answers the questions you’ve sent in over the past week How long can Valentino Rossi still carry on in MotoGP? I guess a lot depends on the quality of the 2018 Yamaha bike@AkosVarga92 (via Twitter) Valentino still loves MotoGP and last year he demonstrated

[ad_1] Suzuki will reward three of its Superbike riders, including former MotoGP race winner Toni Elias, with a chance to test its GSX-RR in Sepang next week. Along with MotoAmerica champion Elias, Michael Dunlop and Josh Waters will also be present in Malaysia for their success in the Isle of Man TT and Australian Superbike

[ad_1] Yonny Hernandez will replace Jonas Folger at Tech3 Yamaha for the first MotoGP pre-season test at Sepang this month, Autosport has learned. It was announced on Wednesday that Folger will sit out the entire 2018 campaign as he continues his recovery from Gilbert’s syndrome, the rare illness that left him unable to compete in

[ad_1] Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has revealed MotoGP is evaluating holding a city-centre race on a partial street circuit. Ezpeleta told Spanish publication Expansion that a proposal to stage a race in an unnamed “warm city” is on the table, and could be added to the growing grand prix calendar in years to come. “It

[ad_1] Following the shock news that Jonas Folger will have to sit out the 2018 MotoGP season, we look at some possible replacements his Tech3 team could consider. It was announced on Wednesday that Folger’s recovery from the illness that force him to miss the end of the 2017 season had progressed slower than expected,

[ad_1] Tech3 Yamaha rider Jonas Folger will be forced to sit out the 2018 MotoGP season. Folger was forced to miss the final four rounds of the 2017 season, as well as post-season testing, after being diagnosed with Gilbert’s syndrome – a genetic ailment that had rendered the German bedridden. The 24-year-old was intially expected

[ad_1] The factory Ducati MotoGP bikes could feature prominent e-cigarette branding in the 2018 season, Autosport understands. Although Ducati has not had Marlboro as an official title sponsor since 2010, it has maintained a close relationship with parent company Philip Morris, which also retains ties with the Ferrari Formula 1 team. Now the tobacco giant

[ad_1] KTM rider Bradley Smith reckons MotoGP could benefit from a football-style transfer window for contract negotiations as rider market speculation for the 2019 season increases. This year’s MotoGP ‘silly season’ is expected to be busy, as the majority grid – including all 12 factory riders – are out of contract ahead of the 2019

[ad_1] Ducati will not offer its MotoGP riders a repeat of the “extraordinary” contract that helped it lure Jorge Lorenzo from Yamaha, says CEO Claudio Domenicali. Like the majority of the field, Lorenzo and team-mate Andrea Dovizioso are out of contract at the end of the 2018 season, with Dovizioso’s strong 2017 form in particular

[ad_1] Moto2 grand prix winner Dominique Aegerter will be the sole Kiefer Racing representative on a KTM in the intermediate class in 2018 after the team found funding to contest the coming season. The team was set to be bought by former racer David Pickworth over the winter following the death of team owner Stefan

[ad_1] Jorge Lorenzo admits his value in the MotoGP rider market is “not high” after a mixed first campaign with Ducati in 2017. The three-time MotoGP champion joined the Italian manufacturer after nine years with Yamaha, but found the transition from the YZR-M1 to the vastly different Desmosedici a difficult one. He steadily adapted to

[ad_1] Ducati has revealed the livery of the MotoGP bike that Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo will race in 2018. The Italian manufacturer unveiled its revised colour scheme – featuring a tweaked design and sections of grey to go with its traditional red and white colours – during a launch event on Monday morning near

[ad_1] Moto2 frontrunner Francesco Bagnaia is in talks with the Pramac Ducati team about a graduation to MotoGP in 2019. Pramac, which signed Jack Miller from Marc VDS Honda to join Danilo Petrucci this year, is close to agreeing terms with Bagnaia, who finished fifth in last year’s Moto2 standings as the top rookie. Bagnaia

[ad_1] Alberto Puig has been named the new team manager of the works Honda MotoGP programme. As predicted by Autosport, Puig, 50, takes over the role from Livio Suppo, who announced his departure from Honda last November. Puig (pictured above left) will report to HRC race operations manager Tetsuhiro Kuwata, and will combine his new